Two Soldiers Coming Home
by Jameson Rook
Summary: "Thank you for your service." He smiled warmly at the camouflage clad man, but the returning face had not changed in the slightest. "I'm Richard Castle." The man shook his hand and nodded in greeting.  "Kevin Ryan. It's good to meet you, Mister Castle."


_**Disclaimer: Castle and all of its characters belong to Andrew W. Marlowe and ABC Productions. "Two Soldiers Coming Home" belongs to Lori McKenna.**_

**I'm sitting in 12B, I got a window seat.**

**All I wanted was a couple hours sleep. **

**A woman's voice came on the intercom,**

**She said "let's hear a round of applause for,**

**Two soldiers coming home, returning to their families,**

**They've been away from them so long.**

**There's gonna be some flags waving, probably see some tear-stained faces.**

**By the grace of God,**

**They made it home.**

Richard Castle exhaled a deep breath as he settled into the plane seat, tucking his carry-on bag under the seat in front of him. The airport had somehow messed up his ticket and had him sitting in coach. It wasn't that he was 'too good' for coach, he just preferred first class on long flights. The seats were more comfortable. He had been on a book tour for far too long, and couldn't wait to get home to his wife, Kate, and their twin boys. When he was much younger, he hadn't minded being on long trips, and partying until two o'clock in the morning before falling into bed with any girl that he pleased. That had all changed when he met Kate.

He'd been speaking as a guest lecture at her college when their eyes had locked across the room. She'd been the only one with enough courage to question him about his methods and ways that he conjured up the murders in his books. Her drive and intensity had drawn him to her.

They became close very fast, all of their conversations over coffee full of witty back and forth banter and flirting. When Kate had shown up on his doorstep on night, with tears streaming down her face, and told him that her mother had been murdered, they had grown even closer. She had dropped out of her law program at her college and immediately enrolled in the police academy, he had been the loudest one cheering at her graduation.

He was drawn from his thoughts when another figure shifted into the seat next to him, stuffing a camouflage bag under the seat and buckling the seat belt. He was about to introduce himself when the intercom crackled to life.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like you to give a round of applause for two of our soldiers that are coming home to their families after being deployed for far too long. They've been through a tough time, but God brough them home safely to us." The flight attendant's voice echoed throughout the cabin. Applause erupted around him, and some people even stomped their feet loudly, whistles bounced off of the small cabin. Rick clapped as well, glancing at the man sitting next to him, who was looking intently at the ground between his feet and refusing to look around.

When the applause finally died down, Castle extended his hand to the younger man, not letting his posture waiver as the man cautiously looked at the gesture before shaking his hand.

"Thank you for your service." He smiled warmly at the man, but the returning face had not changed in the slightest. "I'm Richard Castle."

"Kevin Ryan. It's good to meet you, Mister Castle." He replied quietly. The man's gentle blue eyes were dull, devoid of any sort of light, or warmth. He was fair skinned, probably due to what Castle figured was Irish decent, and had his blonde hair cut into a 'high and tight' hair cut.

"Please, call me Rick." Castle chuckled, releasing the man's hand and sinking back into his seat. He glanced around the cabin, but couldn't seem to locate the other soldier that the woman had mentioned. "Where's the other guy she was talking about? Did they seat him in another section?" Ryan paused a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, they couldn't sit us together, so they put him somewhere else."

"You know, I could always switch seats with him if you want to sit together?" Ryan shook his head and smiled at Castle.

"No, that's kind of you, but I think we'll manage." He replied. "So, Mister Castle, what do you do for work?"

"I'm an author. I've had a few best sellers." Castle quirked an eyebrow curiously.

"Sorry, I'm not much of a reader. Never have been." He chuckled, finally seeming to relax. He was clad in digital Army camouflage and sand colored combat boots. His skin, though more pale than Castle's, was a tanned hide that bore the tell-tale signs of months on end in the beating desert sun. His lips had been wind swept and worn down by sand blowing on them continually.

"Not a problem, I won't hold it against you." Castle joked, drawing a chuckle from the other man. "So, do you know the other guy well?"

"Yeah." He said after a pregnant pause. "Yeah, he's an amazing man. Always someone you want to have going into a fight with you. He's saved my ass on more than one occasion, and he's just kept my ass grounded so that I didn't lose it over there. You can only spend so many night sleeping on a rickety cot before your sanity starts to suffer." He chuckled.

"It sounds like he's a pretty awesome guy."

"Yeah. He is."

**We all clapped our hands, some stomped their feet.**

**Then returned to their books and magazines.**

**A few rows ahead, I saw his uniform. **

**Then she said again, "Come on, let's hear it for,**

**Two soldiers coming home, returning to their families,**

**They've been away from them so long.**

**There's gonna be some flags waving, probably see some tear stained faces.**

**By the grace of God,**

**They made it home.**

They chatted idly through out the rest of the flight, trading stories about their childhood and work. Rick gave more than a few stories of his wild days when he'd first begun publishing books and getting to go to the more extravegant release parties. Ryan had told him about his experiences at bootcamp and the time that he'd spent serving overseas.

They shared quite a few laughs and finally, they fell into a comfortable silence, Castle's eyes lulling shut and his head resting against the small window to his left. Somewhere in the cabin behind them, a man coughed and jolted him from his sleep. He glanced over at Ryan and saw that the man was clutching a photo of himself and another man in a matching camouflage uniform. Their arms were slung around each other's shoudlers, and the other man was pulling Ryan into a headlock.

Ryan's head had lulled forward so that his chin was resting on his chest, and he was snoring softly as Castle looked over and got a closer look at the photograph. The background showed the sweeping landscape of a desert and whipping sand.

The man's eyes fluttered open as the flight attendant's voice crackled over the intercom again and told them they were beginning their descent and that everyone needed to shut off their electronic devices. He glanced over at Castle and noticed that his focus was on the photograph.

He handed the photo over and let Castle look at it. He glanced at the messy scrawl across the back of the photo that read 'Ryan and Esposito, 2012', before handing back the photo.

"Friend of yours?"

"Yeah. My best friend. He's the other soldier on the plane." Ryan grinned as he nodded and tucked the photo back into the pocket of his uniform jacket.

They were both silent as they landed at JFK, and collected their items. The men walked down the breezeway together until they reached the terminal. They waited for their bags in a comfortable silence, and walked down the terminal until they reached the lobby together.

Screeches echoed through the lobby as Castle's twin boys launched themselves at him. He caught the kids in his arms and pulled them both into tight hugs, kissing them repeatedly.

"God, I missed you guys so much!" He chuckled before setting them on the ground and kissing Kate deeply, his arm hooked around her waist. When he pulled away he noticed that Ryan was grinning at him. "Guys, I want you to meet a friend of mine. This is Kevin Ryan." The boys waved shyly and Kate shook his hand politely.

"It's nice to meet you guys. Rick told me all about you on the flight here. You're a lucky man, Rick, they're a beautiful little family." He smiled, kneeling down and ruffling the boys' hair. He rose to his feet once again and glanced across the terminal to where a few more men in Army dress uniforms were waiting outside the glass doors. He shook Rick's hand once again. "I have to get going Rick, I have to go pick up my friend that I told you about. The one that was on the plane? But you have my number, give me a call anytime and we'll get a drink of that bar of yours." The men laughed and Rick watched Ryan jog across the terminal, salute the other men, and bend down to grab something. The haunting sound of a bagpipe shattered through the silence that had fallen over the terminal, everyone's eyes trained on the scene that had begun unfolding in front of them.

A flag draped casket was hoisted between Ryan and the other men as they slowly walked towards the long, gleaming, black limousine that had pulled around the front of the airport. Rick felt his heart drop as he realized what Ryan had meant, his eyes burning with unshed tears. He released Kate's hand and slowly raised his own shaky hand in a salute. He'd never served before, and to be honest, the thought had never crossed his mind, but in that moment, he knew that one last salute was the least he could do for a man who'd given the ultimate sacrifice to keep him and his family safe.

Ryan's eyes locked on his again as they slid the casket into the back of the vehicle and he gave him a nod of thanks. A tear slid down the man's cheek as he clicked his heels, turned to face the casket, and raised his hand in a crisp, clean salute. The men that were out by him were yelling orders to the men standing on either side of the casket, and they moved away from the limousine, piling into a dark SUV.

Castle tore his eyes away from the scene when he felt a small tug on his pant leg.

"Daddy, what was that?" His son, Malcolm, asked curiously. Sometimes he envyed the innocence that Malcolm and Lucas possesed.

"That was a hero, son. He served in the Army so that he could help keep you and Luke and mommy safe for me when I can't." He lifed his boys and swallowed around the bulge of emotion in his throat. "Let's go home, boys. I've been away from you guys too long. No more tours. Daddy is home to stay." He whispered, suddenly overwhelmed with the fact that he did not want to leave his family.

It may not have been the most comfortable situation to have been flying in. He may not have been in the best mood after the mix up with his seating. But, it turned out, that would be the best mix up that had ever happened to him. It reminded him of what was important, and he vowed that he would no longer miss his life. His boys, Alexis and his wife. That was all that mattered. Ryan's friend would not give his life in vain, and he fully attended to live his life to the fullest extent of the freedom that he had died fighting for.

They walked toward the parking garage and he smirked as he watched the boys arguing about what they would do when they got home. He took a moment after loading his bag into the trunk to look skyward and thank God that he'd gotten Ryan home safely, and for bringing their paths together. Ryan had been hit with tragedy and tribulation, but by the grace of God, he'd made it home.

**When that plane landed, we watched one soldier leave,**

**But the other soldier we never got to see.**

**An Army band was playing by a long, black limousine.**

**Two soldiers coming home, returning to their families,**

**They've been away from them so long.**

**There's gonna be some flags waving, gonna be some tear stained faces.**

** Oh, the journey's over for two soldiers,**

**Coming home.**

_**So...yeah...that's something that popped into my head today while I was driving and I had to write it...thoughts? Drop me a review and let me know.**_

_** Much love, J. Rook**_


End file.
